Underneath the Sakura Tree
by T'Liana
Summary: The Winter Solstice occurs once a year. On that night, twelve animals meet at the base of a Sakura tree.


This is basically me turning all the characters in Naruto's class plus Team Gai into animals and making them friends. I quite enjoyed choosing what animal each character would be and it was an interesting experiment.

o.O.o

 **Underneath the Sakura Tree**

The light is what brought them to the base of the tree. It was the light of the Sakura tree – the one tree that continued to flower when all others had withered away to nothing. The leaves were a luminescent pink, even in the midnight blackness, and they were leaves of destiny. The Winter Solstice was in full swing and the nights were long and cold, but that did not deter the Sakura tree. She continued to bloom and it was this bloom that brought together twelve complete strangers to alter the course of their lives forever.

o.O.o

 ** _1\. The Red Fox_**

Shivering from the cold, a scrawny red fox dug among the trash behind a ramen shop in the hopes he'd find something to eat. His name was Naruto and he'd always been homeless; living off whatever scraps he could find. Whenever he saw a well-fed pet he felt sick. They looked down on him but they didn't know what he had to deal with every day. There were the animals he competed with and the humans that tried to catch and kill him.

Life as a feral fox was hard. He hadn't had a good bath in months and there was never enough to eat. Plus, as the city was thrown into deep winter, it was a fight to find the warmest sleeping spots. More often than not Naruto ended up nearly freezing to death under a bush or on the footpath.

He finally found a mouldy old potato and gulped it down, ignoring the way it stuck in his throat. Then he padded away from the bin and stuck his head out from the alley, hoping to see a park bench or something he could curl up under.

A flash of light close by caught his attention. Curious, he changed his course and moved towards the light, hoping that light meant fire and fire meant warmth.

 ** _2\. The Black Cat_**

Evening frost coated the ground and grass blades stiffened so they crunched underfoot. A black cat called Sasuke stared at the frozen front yard from his spot on the window sill. His fur was silky smooth and sharp red eyes appraised the frozen ground calculatingly, only to change focus as a human entered the room. The human's name was Itachi Uchiha and he was the best owner a cat could want.

Itachi held out his hand, asking permission, and Sasuke rubbed his face against Itachi's hand and purred. His owner smiled and scratched behind Sasuke's ears for a moment before heading to bed. The cat watched him go. Once Sasuke had lived on the street, but it was a time he never liked thinking about. His life changed when Itachi adopted him and he became a feisty but loyal housecat.

The cat looked out the window again and squinted at a sudden burst of colour two blocks away. He stood and stretched before padding gently through the cat flap and racing across the freezing pavement, glad that he didn't have a bell. Itachi would have woken immediately if Sasuke had a bell.

Sasuke knew that curiosity killed the cat, but he felt drawn to the flash of light like moths to a flame.

 ** _3\. The Brown Raccoon_**

He hadn't named himself. The townspeople had named him Gaara because he was always hunting around to feed himself. He would climb into their bins in the middle of the night and throw everything out in his quest for food.

Gaara – the resident raccoon. It wasn't his fault that he was homeless, or that humans tended to put the food scraps in the bottom of the bins. No one wanted to keep a raccoon as a pet and there were good pickings in town, so he slept in the surrounding forest and only came in at night. Sometimes he came across another homeless animal and fought with them over food. He always won because he was vicious with his sharpened claws and teeth.

At the moment Gaara was tail-deep in a bin and chewing on a bone that had been licked clean by some cat. It was completely tasteless, coarse and hard to stomach, but it was nourishment. When the bone was finished he climbed out of the bin and wandered to the footpath, where he sat against the fence and curled his tail around him. Gaara was lonely. He never said it but he desperately wanted companionship in his escapades. Someone to talk to would be nice but every animal was afraid of him.

His eyes flicked to a sudden burst of colour amongst the inky blue sky. He slowly got to his feet and clicked into action, racing up the path with legs flying and his teeth bared at the cold. It felt important.

 ** _4\. The Grey Cat_**

Shikamaru cursed the dog next door as it barked like mad since some poor soul was walking past at midnight. The grumpy cat reluctantly woke from his wonderful sleep and crawled out from his cosy bed, stretching lazily on the carpet. His black eyes flicked to the shifting form of his sleeping owner, Shikaku Nara, and he padded past the bed.

The hallway tiles were cold beneath his pads. Shikamaru fought back a hiss of displeasure and put his limited energy towards reaching the kitchen for a drink of water. A tiny sliver of moonlight forced its way through the open windows and Shikamaru looked up at the sky sadly. His old owner, Asuma Sarutobi, had loved the moonlight. Asuma was fascinated by the white rays and would sit up for hours just watching the moon while absently stroking Shikamaru's fluffy grey fur. When Asuma died Shikamaru was adopted by a neighbour in desperate need of companionship.

Hence why it was Shikaku and not Asuma in the bed.

Shikamaru went to look away from the sky but a burst of light across the road caught his attention. He padded to the window and stared outside curiously, wondering what it was. For some reason he felt drawn to the light (which was weird because he was never drawn to anything). Knowing that he wouldn't be able to get his beauty sleep if he was wondering about that light, Shikamaru crawled through the cat flap and took off to where he'd seen the light.

 ** _5\. The Brown Pug_**

It seemed that Chouza Akimichi had hidden the dog food very well. After an hour of nosing through every kitchen cupboard at midnight, Choji had to admit defeat. He slumped down on the kitchen floor and let out a whiny sound, wanting nothing more than food at that moment. It seemed that his owner, Chouza, was bent on believing that Choji was too fat and needed to lose weight. As a result, Choji was starving from his reduced meal sizes.

It wasn't fair. Choji had always loved food, resulting in his nickname 'Forever Hopeful'. Whenever Chouza went into the kitchen Choji was there at his feet, whacking his tail against the ground enthusiastically. Chouza would occasionally give into the cuteness and give Choji a forbidden morsel; those days were the best days. Of course those were always followed by an extra-long walk that morning and another walk in the afternoon. Choji didn't mind – like any sensible dog he loved walks.

The defeated pug dragged himself to his feet and moved quietly across the linoleum kitchen floor, moving onto the wooden living room floor. His claws clacked slightly as he padded across to the window and peered outside. Nothing moved except for a flag that hung outside the house opposite, indicating that there was a slight wind. Choji was secretly glad that he was inside because tonight was freezing.

The sky flashed pink a few blocks away and Choji's small eyes snapped to attention. His tail began to wag as he saw the cat across the road slipping out the front door and heading towards the strange light. Curious, Choji followed.

 ** _6\. The Golden Labrador_**

Ino was very spoilt. The human that raised her, Inoichi Yamanaka, always made sure she had the very best and was always comfortable. Her fur was always soft and shiny and she never went hungry.

It was great to have a rich owner. Ino stretched out on her fluffy, soft white bed and rolled over, trying to fall back asleep. Something had woken her and she couldn't fall back into her desired slumber. Inoichi slept on peacefully, completely undaunted by his dog's discomfort, while Ino tossed back and forth.

Finally accepting defeat, she rose to her feet and shook her long golden fur before moving to the living room and jumping onto the white leather lounge. It was cold at first but her body heat would soon warm it up. She wondered if coming to the living room was a good idea, as Inoichi had forgotten to close one of the curtains and anyone in the street could easily see where she lay.

Her annoyance vanished as soon as she saw the night sky filled with twinkling stars. It was so beautiful… and pink? She leapt to her feet and raced forward, pressing her nose against the window. There it was! Pink light filled the sky and originated from where the park should be. Ino was torn between trying to fall back asleep and going to see what that light was.

Option two won and she was out the door in seconds.

 ** _7\. The Great Pyrenees Dog_**

Night-time was the best time to be outside. There were no loud noises and though it was cold, it was also peaceful. Kiba loved playing in the snow at night, even if Tsume Inuzuka didn't like it when he came back inside and soaked her bed. She was actually considering giving Kiba up for adoption and keeping his sister Hana (who was completely perfect and never did anything fun).

Adoption wouldn't be too bad, Kiba thought as he dug a hole in the snow, except that his new owner could be a mean person who didn't let him play outside at all. Dogs his size needed a lot of time outside because they had so much energy and Kiba was no exception.

He finished digging the hole and used the snow he'd dug up to fashion a slide. It was clumsy and completely out of proportion, but it worked fine when he jumped onto the top and tumbled all the way to the bottom. He had to fight back a howl of joy so he wouldn't wake Tsume and instead continued to run around the back yard.

A pink glow in the town below the mountain house caught his attention. He jumped over the fence and stared at the tiny buildings below him, his eyes always returning to the pink glow. Oh, what the hell. He proceeded to bump and bounce all the way down the mountain and run into town, towards the pink glow.

 ** _8\. The Black Mouse_**

She snuffled at the edge of her small mouse hole, smelling something amazing. Something like… freshly baked bread. Hinata tiptoed out from her hole and darted across the darkened alley, glancing left and right furtively. Alleys were no place for small mice like her, especially when there were so many stray animals that would gladly eat her. At least her fur was black so she would blend into the ground at night.

The smell became stronger and she came to a stop outside the bakery. It was early in the morning and the baker had obviously arrived early to make some bread. Her whiskers quivered at the wonderful smell and she debated trying to slip under the door to take a bite.

Suddenly the front window turned pink and she spun, alarmed, only to see that the park across the road was glowing strangely. It seemed to emanate from the tree in the middle. Maybe that strange glow meant something. At any rate, it was probably more interesting than standing outside the bakery in the pitch black surrounded by the scent of freshly baked bread.

So Hinata, the little mouse, pattered across the freezing road to the park.

 ** _9\. The Black Beetle_**

This specific breed of beetle was known as Kikaichu. They mostly travelled in large groups in the summer and hibernated during the winter, usually inside a hollow tree or log.

Shino wasn't the typical Kikaichu, as he didn't like winter hibernation like the others did. He found winter fascinating with the short days, long nights, piercing cold and the beautiful snow. On occasion he would fly down to the snow and click his wings against it, watching in awe as snow was sent flying in every direction.

His father, Shibi, was the leader of this group of Kikaichu and if he found out about Shino's fascination… well, Shino would be cast out from the group. Kikaichu that thought differently were unpredictable and a threat to the safety of the group. That's why Shino made sure everyone else was hibernating before he left the hollow tree to explore.

The town was beautiful when he flew over early at night with all its lights and activity. It became darker as the night lengthened and he found the town even more beautiful at midnight. His wings buzzed as he rose higher and he breathed deeply, savouring the fresh smell of winter.

Pink light swirled beneath him and he abruptly changed course, dive-bombing the source of the colour.

 ** _10\. The Blackbird_**

His name was Neji and he was a bird. Birds sleep during the night and hunt during the day, but not this bird. Neji found that tastier prey came out at night so that's when he hunted for food, despite impaired vision. His beady eyes would scan the ground below as he soared above.

It was great being a bird. He couldn't imagine being an earth-bound creature like a cat or dog, as flight was freedom. That freedom was the best thing Neji could have, even if he had an empty stomach. Empty stomachs could easily be fixed with a mouse or two.

The wind whipped through his black feathers, chilling him to the bone, and his wings flapped lazily to propel him forwards in the same direction as the wind. His eyes were zoomed in on the ground in search of the tiniest movement in the gutter and he saw something. Just as he prepared to dive, his vision of the prey was obscured by a burst of pink that appeared right in the centre of the town. His eyes flicked to the pink and he unconsciously swooped lower, changing his dive direction.

Now he was heading towards the pink instead of the prey.

 ** _11\. The Red Squirrel_**

The squirrel rushed around the hollow of his tree, hastily grabbing acorns and shoving them further into the stuffy warmth that was his home. Any acorn left too close to the entrance would freeze and he couldn't eat it.

Lee's fluffy red tail twitched with constant movement, even when he slept. Lee himself twitched with constant movement, especially in winter. He itched to go outside and run around on the boughs but then his soft padded feet would stick to the frost. As a result, he rushed around the tiny warm space with no real purpose. He really needed to go find a bigger hollow tree, but this was the only hollow tree in the entire park and he didn't want to leave the park.

He glanced outside and ignored the blast of icy cold wind that struck his face. It was dark outside and he could barely make out the snow-covered outlines of the playground and park benches as well as the bare bushes and trees. His eyes found the one flowering tree and he stopped twitching as he stared at it. Why was a tree flowering in _winter_? Better yet, how could a tree manage to keep its leaves on the coldest night of the year?

Actually… the leaves were very beautiful. Lee was captivated even further when the tree began to glow and he jumped when pink light pulsed all over the park, as if calling something. He leapt out of his hollow and rushed towards the tree, completely entranced.

 ** _12\. The Tabby Cat_**

Tenten rushed away from the pound, tail streaming out behind her as she moved with the speed of a tiger. A human shouted behind her and a net hit the ground where she'd just been. It encouraged her to move faster and she careened around a corner before ducking underneath a bin and curling up into as small a ball as possible. Feet pounded heavily past the bin and she stayed where she was without moving an inch.

Long sharp claws were fantastic. She'd escaped from the pound quite a few times thanks to her trusty claws and now she had to trust the cold of the night to keep her hidden. If she was lucky the human would go back to the pound because it was too cold.

She was lucky. When the human's footsteps had faded into the distance she slipped out from under the bin and padded off slowly, revelling in her freedom. But… now that she was free she didn't know where to go. Okay, she had to find a place and turn it into a den. Then she would focus on surviving and staying away from the humans that put her into the pound.

Strolling up the street, her attention was drawn to a faint flash of pink that appeared behind a tall apartment building. Pink was a good colour. Tenten liked pink. Plus she now had an idea on what to do. The tabby cat picked up the pace and ran towards the colour that shone in the sky.

o.O.o

The twelve animals converged in the park and stood together at the base of the Sakura tree, staring up at the glowing pink leaves. Twelve different sets of eyes were riveted on the pink tree that shook slightly against a non-existent breeze. Actually, the breeze had stopped altogether. It didn't even feel cold anymore.

Two long branches stretched out like arms and moved high into the air. The pink glow increased and the animals squinted against the light that seemed to see into their very soul…

 _"_ _The Winter Solstice is your destiny."_

A woman's voice rang out in each of their minds. Twelve heads shot up in surprise, as they hadn't known the importance of this night. The glow of the Sakura tree faded away as quickly as it had come, leaving only silence and the freezing night.

The tree had left more than an echo of a voice. Each creature had been imprinted with knowledge of the other eleven – it was like they weren't strangers ten seconds ago. They looked at each other awkwardly, not sure what to say.

Then four conversations started simultaneously.

The first was between the squirrel, the blackbird and the tabby cat. "I live in that tree over there!" Lee exclaimed, running in circles around the blackbird. Neji eyed him balefully.

"Stop that."

"Stop what?" Lee slowed and stared at Neji, his nose and tail twitching.

"Running."

A tabby cat stepped too close for comfort. "What's it like to fly?"

Neji was taken aback by the question but he already had an answer. "It feels free."

Tenten meowed softly. "I just got out of the pound. Do you know anywhere I could hide?"

"I know a place," Neji replied. Lee scratched behind his ear unceremoniously.

"Can I come with you? I can bring my whole nut hoard!" He looked so excited that it melted Tenten's heart.

"Of course you can come with us," she said sweetly. "It's not like I'm going to eat you or anything. You're too cute!"

Neji cawed indignantly. "When did we all become so friendly?"

The tabby fixed him with a hard look. "When the Sakura tree showed us our destiny."

"What destiny?" Lee asked densely. The three of them cast their eyes over the rest of the group.

The second conversation was between the Great Pyrenees dog, the mouse and the beetle. "I… uh…" Hinata squeaked as Kiba bent his head to sniff her. "Please don't eat me!"

"I won't eat you," he assured her. "You're just the smallest mouse I've ever seen."

Hinata jumped when Shino crawled onto her back. "You're just the right size for a steed," the beetle buzzed. "I'm part of the Kikaichu breed of beetles. My entire group is holed up in a forest tree for the winter. We like to hibernate."

"And you don't?" Kiba asked, eyeing the beetle with new interest.

"Winter is fascinating," Shino said simply.

"I lived up in the mountains there." Kiba indicated with his muzzle. "We get some pretty good snow up there and a killer view."

"C-could I c-come?" Hinata squeaked. "It's s-scary d-d-down here. I'm af-fraid of the big dogs a-and people." She got up on her hind legs and pulled her hands over her eyes to spread the liquid over her face to clean it. The movement was quite cute.

"Of course! We've got plenty of room and I'd be happy to share some food with the both of you."

"I can feed myself," Shino buzzed. "I just need to get away from my group before they ditch me. They don't like different bugs."

Kiba laid his head on his front paws. "I like you two. I think we'll be great friends."

The third conversation was between the pug, the Labrador and the grey cat. Choji was sniffing Shikamaru's fur, noting the distinct scent of food. "Had enough of a sniff?" the cat murmured quietly.

"Oh. Yeah." Choji backed away a step, his tail drooping. He looked up as the most beautiful dog he'd ever seen approached.

"Hello boys," Ino greeted, sitting down gracefully. "You both look like house pets to me. Am I right?"

"You're right," Shikamaru replied. "I live across the street from this kid. He followed me here."

"Did not. I saw the light and you happened to as well." Choji's stomach growled. "Do either of you have some food I can eat? My owner thinks I'm too fat so I haven't had a real meal in weeks."

Ino nodded. "I graze and my food is the best. Feel free to come over whenever you're hungry, but don't eat all of it."

Choji became aware that he was drooling. "You're so cool…"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and yawned, displaying sharp canines. "He's whipped. Ino, I hope you can handle his love of food."

She tilted her golden head at the cat. "So what's your story, Shikamaru?"

"I'm lazy. Sleeping is my favourite pastime."

"Hm." She nodded as if expecting the answer. "Then I'll be sure to annoy you as much as possible and goad you into doing something."

Shikamaru hissed in displeasure and Choji shook his whole body mockingly, a big grin on his face.

The fourth conversation was between the black cat, the fox and the raccoon. "Are you a housecat?" Naruto asked stepping close to Sasuke. "You have that clean-fur-look that housecats do."

"Yes, I'm a housecat." Sasuke twitched his nose at the gross smell of the fox's and raccoon's fur. "You two need a bath."

"Of course we do," Gaara snapped, "but it's not like someone'll adopt a raccoon and a fox. We're unruly beasts."

"Itachi would." He didn't know why, but Sasuke felt the overwhelming urge to help these two animals. It must be the destiny the tree spoke of.

"Who's Itachi?" Naruto asked, his tail swishing back and forth.

"He's my owner. He adopted me off the streets and I'm sure that if you two aren't heaps of trouble he'll adopt you too."

"Who says we want to be adopted?" Gaara asked sharply.

"Destiny does," Naruto gasped. "That's what Sakura was talking about! She's trying to push us into different directions that will benefit all of us."

Sasuke looked at Naruto in a new light. "You're smarter than you look."

All the conversations died down and the twelve animals exchanged another look. They knew that it was time to separate and go back to their lives but something had changed and they didn't want to go. It was like… they were drawn together underneath the Sakura tree and for some inexplicable reason they were bonded.

Naruto stepped forward first. "Let's make a promise. On the Winter Solstice of every year we'll all come back and meet here. Tonight gave us all something we needed – friends, a place to sleep, a place to escape – and it'll continue to do that. Who's with me?"

One-by-one, eleven animals nodded their assent. They swore to come back. Then the groups slowly broke up with three heading to a house in the mountains, three heading into the forest, three heading into separate houses along the same street and three heading to the same house.

Sakura watched them go, satisfied that the destiny of friendship they all shared had been realised.

o.O.o

 _Owari_


End file.
